Pamola

Pamola was once a legendary spirit that resided on top of Maine's tallest mountain, Mt. Katahdin. The
spirit was half man, half eagle and half moose.

In Abenaki Mythology, Pamola caused the storms!

Pamola is now a rad rock band also from Maine that has been making the storms for a good couple of years.

The sounds they produce draw on heavy influences from Slint's Spiderland, early Modest Mouse, DC punk, their friends and many more... the sounds themselves are very much a nice treat of noisy guitars and post whatever. There's also a bit of jazz and I am even starting to hear some folk now (ever since pete, also of Butcher Boy, lends some crazy fiddle work on top of the already out of nowhere sound these guys inflect on their small audiences).

Pamola -  2009 Demo

This summer I caught these guys again with The Waldos and Red Medicine on Poland Street at the Rough Draft House and I was really impressed with their performance since seeing them a year or so ago in Fahmtown, Maine at the show with a very young incarnation of Butcher Boy that I mentioned during their respected post. The drums were tighter and more together, there was some fiddling (not just from the guitars but also from Pete's fiddle which took me by surprise), and some sweet vocals which I previously hadn't heard live. All in all, I'm just glad these guys are still playing!

Along with Pete (perc/vox/fiddle/bass) killing bitches via music moonlighting in Butcher Boy, Bill (guitars) also plays in The Waldos, and Matt (guitar and anything he can get his hands on) also plays in Red Medicine.

Pamola used to also feature Travis of Butcher Boy on the singing mouth drum. Before his introduction to the band, Pamola was simply known as Schrute. Free stuff of interest from Schrute can be found on their Last.fm page as well as here.


Last.fm
Rough Draft Records
Facespace (because these folks are real people and should be personally insulted for their mess they call music)

Monday IV

Happy Monday and Happy Columbus day AMERICA!

Now music:

innards - cool out, mthrfkr (2010)

Skramz from Texas. First track really shows.

Last.fm

Kids & Explosions - Shit Computer (2010)

Kids & Explosions is Josh Raskin (who is also an Oscar-nominated Director for his little Beatles film, I Met the Walrus) of Toronto. Kids & Explosions (not to be confused with German post hardcore band Kids Explode) mashes up music like the rest but makes it really glitchy and scratched up. Like, if you actually bought a physical copy of Girl Talk's work and scraped it across some pavement. Just kidding. Who buys Girl Talk..

Also: I forgot how cool the official site was!

Last.fm

Sunny Ali Presents.. SPOOKWAVE - SPOOK WAVE VOL. 1 (2010)

I dunno about you, but I'm really pumped for Halloween already!

Here's some "wave" I can stand by: Halloween infused silly lo-fi party music!

Last.fm

Botch - An Anthology Of Dead Ends

An Anthology Of Dead Ends is the last studio recording from everyone's favorite metalcore pioneers, Botch. These guys may have ended but not only did they go on to more projects, the Botch sound itself went on to cause a chain reaction of other mathcore or metalcore "legends" (love 'em or hate 'em... Botch did that). 

You can definitely hear a much more polished sound from this beautiful EP right here. Rather than showing how mature this band may have become, it keeps you up at night wishing there was more Botch after this...

Botch - An Anthology Of Dead Ends (2002)

This EP also features one of my favorite songs of all time "Afghamistam" a Slint-like tune that incorporates slow moving guitars with spoken word leading to some driving drums, a piano w/ strings break and a wave goodbye to the rest of the album. I wouldn't call it a departure from their sound though because Botch had the song "Swimming the Channel vs. Driving the Chunnel" on We Are The Romans that was also slower and featured subdued vox than the usual heavy and aggressive tone that these guys brought to the metal table. Botch understood that being loud and angry is not all that a band needs and should have to offer. 

That's also the reason I'm not afraid to say that Afghamistam is my favorite Botch song even though it goes against all that you hear in their previous works. If a band can kick your ass by being fast and noisy and then slow it down and be spooky mellow and still kick your ass then you know your listening to some talented individuals. 

I've heard some rumors to why all the song titles are countries with the N's changed to M's but I am not certain as to what the true meaning is. So I'm not going to bother saying the rumors.  

You'll take the ride to leave this town

along that yellow line

you'll find the life on the outside

Last.fm

Hydra Head Records (blog)

Myspace

The Tallest Man On Earth part 1

The Tallest Man On Earth really isn't that tall but he surely wants to be the tallest man in your eyes.

The Tallest Man On Earth - The Tallest Man On Earth (2006)

Favorite track: Steal Tomorrow

The Tallest Man On Earth is Kristian Matsson. I remember reading about this guy on some non-existent blog, I think it was Apes With Guns, and all I needed to read was "the Swedish Bob Dylan"for me to be interested. I was really in the mood for some folk at the time (and still am) and so I quickly grabbed his EP and started liking what I was hearing right away. The raw country-grown passion of this means voice is an easy fit to any fan of folk or odd voiced singers. YOu don't even have to be a Dylan fan.

This self-titled EP is his most raw and free work he has put out to date. That being said, I don't think he has really put anything out that I can't enjoy.

P.S. The song "Walk The Line" is not a Johnny Cash cover. Still really good none the less.

The Tallest Man On Earth - Shallow Grave (2008)

Favorite track: Pistol Dreams

The first full release and probably best by TTMOE.

I always feel bad when I make a comparison to another band or artist like every other joe schmo on the internet. whether or not he sounds like Bob Dylan, he's still his own man!

Last.fm
Official site
The tallest man on earth for real

Irepress & The Goonies

Irepress play a progressive post-metal sound that is quite funky and different. They like to call it "disco metal". It sounds interesting what ever it is.

Irepress - Samus Octology (2007)

The coolest thing about this band is their love of The Goonies. Now, I love The Goonies too, so when I found out they actually synced up their Album, Samus Octology (which sounds more like a Metroid reference) I was absolutely hooked. The end result might just be like putting The Dark Side of the Moon up side by side with The Wizard of Oz where your like yeah that fits I guess, but hey! What a sick idea.

Their used to be a video up on Irepress's Myspace that had the whole movie synced up, if I remember right. I'm guessing it got taken down or something. There is still a few Youtube videos kicking around that show the effects though. I suggest you try it yourself if you have the super sweet 80's kid adventure  flick, The Goonies lying around to hear and see just how it lines up.

Other examples of their fondness for The Goonies include a few sweet Goonie themed banners as well as the song, Fletchie, a drum 'n' bass like song off their next album after Samus Octology, entitled Sol Eye Sea I that features little snippets of sampled lines from Mikey the main character.

I'm not sure if these guys are going to be putting out new music and time soon. They did release a single featuring The Number Twelve Looks Like You's singer, Shaolin Knights in late 2010 which is up for free still. The notes say that they have gone back to their roots when they had two singers doing that sing/scream gibba gabba and weren't playing sweet and sludgy progressive post-rock music. I just hope that's for that one track because to me, that just seems like a step in the wrong direction.

 Also: According to their Myspace, they've shared the same stage with Wu-Tang Clan.

Last.fm
Myspace
The Goonies

Monday III

Got some music for ya.

Kidcrash - Jokes (2007)

Screamo math rock like a less fun Native. Like calculator.

You can download all their released material here. Don't know anything about their next release "Naps".

Last.fm

Nouvelle - Home EP (2011)

Like a young british Defeater.

Bandcamp
Last.fm

Mountain Wasp - Jackpines (2011)

Folked up acoustic music from Montréal. Kind of perfect for the start of October.

Mountain Wasp (Rowan Bee) is going to be playing at Jakob Battick's (with his Bloodworm Orchestra of fellow local musicians) last show ever! It's going to be witnessed at the Rough Draft House on Poland Street in Portland October 15th. I won't be able to make it but if you are from around the Portland, Maine area and know Jakob Battick or like dark folk stuff then check it out.

Last.fm

Deniro - Deniro (2002)

I found this band while clicking around after streaming Giraffes? Giraffes! new album, Pink Magick on their Bandcamp (hanse the banner). Deniro included G?G!'s guitarist, Joseph Andreoli (who's other works are all over the Bandcamp) on drums. Sounds like Drive Like Jehu with a little Sonic Youth. The Second song actually sounds a lot like Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing" at some points.

Typhoon - A New Kind of House (2011)

Portland Oregon might be hipper than Portland Maine but I can handle that. Portland Oregon having a hell of a lot of talent just oozing out of it, I'm not so calm about. Too much talent other Portland, cut it out! Just look at Portland folk orchestra Typhoon and their performance on Letterman! there's about a hundred (12) people in this band! Two drummers for a folk band... really? You're killing me!

This band's going to blow up and be really big (bigger than they already are and I'm not just talking about all the people in this band). You just wait. I'm going to hate it!

Last.fm
Bandcamp

You let the devil in your home.

Kickball

It's hard to think about the girl you'd like to kiss when the world is ending.

Kickball is probably my favorite thing to listen to right now. They play some type of minimal mathy indie rock that is quite unconventional. Jacob Wilson combines his sparse twinkly guitar work reminiscent of Dilute (to me) and uncontrollably desperate cries for help to bring up a super rad new experience of music. Wilson's awkward voice spills out over the band like a frightful boy who has seen too much.  Maybe it's not what he's seen but knows. He often repeats what he is saying like there is some kind of argent message in the word play. The drums are usually played with the instruments rather than for or accompanying. It's all good.

Kickball - Everything is a Miracle Nothing is a Miracle Everything Is (2007)

I'm not sure what these guys and gal are up to but I don't think they are calling it quits right now!

The drummer, Lisa Ann Schonberg wrote a cute little picture and words book on drumming called The DIY Guide to Drums. She also played in the all girl band Explode Into Colors with former/present members of Tender Forever, Thunder!Thunder!Thunder, Hornet Leg, and Japanther (last.fm).

Members also play in another hard to google band, Lake. I don't know which one(s).

Similar acts/sounds: Ape Up!, Explode Into Color, Clarissa Explains It All, Dilute, CLARA CLARA, Lake, etc. etc. etc................

Last.fm
Bandcamp
Highfives and Handshakes Records
If you build a house at the beach
It's automatically a beach house